In 27 years from now, almost a quarter of the global population will be obese, researchers said today, warning of the mounting medical bill.

If current trends continue, 22 per cent of people in the world will be obese by 2045, up from 14 per cent last year, according to research presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna.

One in eight people, up from one in 11, will have type 2 diabetes — a form of the disease that generally hits in adulthood as a result of being overweight.

“These numbers underline the staggering challenge the world will face in the future in terms of numbers of people who are obese, or have type 2 diabetes, or both,” said researcher Alan Moses of Danish healthcare company Novo Nordisk’s research and development department.

“As well as the medical challenges these people will face, the costs to countries’ health systems will be enormous,” he added.

In the United States, the researchers found obesity will increase from 39 per cent of the population in 2017 to 55 per cent in 2045, and diabetes from 14 per cent to 18 per cent.

In Britain, the proportion will swell from 32 per cent to 48 per cent, with the incidence of diabetes rising from 10.2 per cent to 12.6 per cent.

Already, health systems are spending “huge sums just to treat diabetes,” the researchers said in a statement, according to AFP News Agency.

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